Chapter 17

After completing my usual routine, I walked towards the guild, but something felt off. I couldn't pinpoint it, but the atmosphere was different from usual.

The town seemed noisy and restless. When I arrived at the guild and entered, the scene had completely changed from the norm.

Usually, the counter was fairly empty with one or two guild girls always present, but now it was completely deserted, and the request board had been taken down. There was only one man standing with a staff. On the counter, it read, "Emergency situation: Adventurers capable of combat, please gather immediately in front of the forest gate." Something must have happened.

I left the guild and headed towards the forest gate. Unlike usual, there was no gatekeeper, and instead, the guild receptionists, including Sally, were standing near the gate with weapons.

Around them were what seemed to be newbies. They were adventurers who didn't have much physique or impressive weapons, and they were looking tense as they stared at the gate.

In front of the gate, a little to the side, there was a long, narrow mat about 2.5 meters wide, and two men who looked like mages were standing nearby.

"What happened?"

I asked Sally, who was nearby. From the situation, it seemed like a monster attack. I could smell danger.

"Yes, the adventurers who went to investigate the Green Wolf pack from yesterday discovered that a large number of monsters were heading towards this town. If not for that, the damage would have been much greater. Thank you."

So, it was a stroke of luck. Does this mean the defense of Ein is about to begin?

"So, we just need to guard the gate?"

"No, many of the monsters in the pack, such as Gargons, have excellent charging power and large body weights. If we only guard the gate, the wall will be broken. The wall here is not as thick as in a fortress city. Therefore, we'll leave the gate to the newbies, and you, Kaede, should go to the front lines and take out as many monsters as possible. It's important to gain as much distance as possible for the defense of the town. Of course, there will be rewards based on the number of monsters you defeat. The price will be three times the usual reward for monster hunts, and for monsters without a bounty, we'll pay double the usual rate based on past extermination requests."

Alright, I need to go to the front lines. But I...

"I just registered with the guild a few days ago. Is it really okay for me to go to the front lines?"

"No, you may be a newbie, but you have a record of defeating many Green Wolves. From the wounds on the Green Wolves, you are one of the top adventurers in this town. We can't afford to let you sit this out just because you registered recently. To be honest, our guild is not very strong, and we are a small branch. In an attack of this scale, we have no spare combat power. So, please depart as soon as possible. Are you ready?"

"Yes, I have everything I need in my item box, so I can go anytime."

With that, I equipped my sword, armor, and shield from my item box and gripped a short staff.

I haven't been in this town for long, but I have grown attached to it. If I can prevent it from being attacked, I will do my best to help. I don't want to experience the feeling of a car accident on Earth again.

"Understood. You are one of the main forces in this attack, so please don't get injured and withdraw from the battle."

"Yes, I'm off."

With that, I ran out. The requirement to not get injured while advancing is quite strict, but it also means I am expected. Besides, I can level up, and I can push deep into the forest, killing enemies. Minor injuries can be healed with healing magic. Moreover, the more enemies I defeat, the safer I will be with level-ups. It's best to level up as much as possible before encountering strange enemies. It would be great if only Green Wolves appeared...

While running, I drank a mana recovery acceleration potion. This will increase my mana recovery speed, but it's better to conserve it as much as possible. Even though I have a lot, it's not infinite. At full power, I have about 910 seconds plus recovery, with mana recovering at about 1.5 per second.

First, I spotted a group of five Green Wolves, so I changed direction and charged in, slashing them with my sword. With one swing, two on the right were cut in half, and with the next, I cut down one that leaped from the left and another that was waiting for an opportunity. I then cut the head off the last one and continued running. It would be better to advance further than to waste time collecting the remaining Green Wolf corpses.

I kept running. Two pig-like creatures with fierce faces were ahead. I sliced them as I passed and continued. I saw the silhouette of another adventurer to my right rear, but it didn't matter. I just needed to kill any monsters I found. No mercy. It's like playing an FPS game.

Next, it was a group of Green Dogs. I thought about using fire magic for a moment, but forest fires are scary, and it would be a waste of time to put them out. So, I decided to use rock spears. I launched seven at the front and prepared my shield and sword to deal with the incoming group. I killed those within reach of my sword and used rock spears on those out of reach to conserve mana and deal with them efficiently.

*Level Up!*

The sound of leveling up echoed. My level increased, and the required experience also went up, but it wasn't as noticeable as background music.

This group wasn't as large as the last one, so I quickly defeated them. I leveled up once and decided to keep moving. To protect the town, I needed to advance, but there were limits. Basically, all the monsters running towards the town from the forest were enemies.

After running a bit, I sensed a slightly larger presence. It was a boar about 1.5 meters tall charging at me. Was this a Gargon?

It was quite fast despite its large size, but being a boar, it probably couldn't turn well. I didn't have time to appraise it. To avoid being run over, I generated seven rock spears, infused them with a bit more mana, and launched them when the boar was about 5 meters away, jumping to the right at the same time.

As expected, the Gargon wasn't good at turning. It passed to my left. I was worried if it had turned successfully.

I took the opportunity to appraise it.

Gargon

RANK: C

HP: 2252/3500

MP: 0/0

STR: 251

INT: 1

AGI: 63

DEX: 3

Skills: None

So, it's a brainless monster. But its STR is high. Being run over would be disastrous. It also has a lot of HP and is tough. Even with the seven rock spears infused with more than twice the usual mana, it still had about two-thirds of its HP left.

I decided to hit it with more rock spears when it charged again, but it seemed off. It tried to turn but stumbled and fell.

I thought it was faking death, but when I appraised it, its HP was 0.

Thinking about it, that makes sense. If it takes a hit that reduces its HP by about 30% immediately, it would likely die from bleeding and other injuries. In this world, it's not just about HP reaching 0. Injuries can reduce HP.

I stored the Gargon in my item box and continued. It would be a waste to leave it behind. Gargons are high-ranked and one of the monsters that can break the wall. I should take out as many as possible.

I generated nine rock spears, infused each with about 10 mana, and kept them floating. One in the head would probably kill a Gargon.

I jumped and kicked off the ground to search for prey. It's better to look from a higher vantage point.

I found my prey. Two Gargons were running about 10 meters to my left.

I intercepted them and hit them with the rock spears, and they died instantly. The spears must have reached their brains. *Level Up!*

From what I saw while jumping, there were no more Gargons of that size, but the monsters were all coming from a similar direction. I might find more prey that way. I stored the Gargons in my item box and ran in that direction.

Sure enough, the monsters were coming from that direction. I used my sword and newly generated regular rock spears to eliminate Green Wolves and pigs, and I used the large rock spears on Gargons.

I kept running, but after about five minutes, I couldn't find any more monsters. Had I gone too far? I was considering turning back when...

"GYAAAAAA..."

I heard an ominous sound, more like a roar.

Could the monsters attacking the town be fleeing from this thing? I wanted to run back, but I should report what kind of monster it was.

To identify the source of the roar, I jumped. I saw a silver mass reflecting the sunlight coming towards me.

I jumped again and appraised it.

Metal Lizard

RANK: B

HP: 2798/2800

MP: 0/0

STR: 1237

INT: 4

AGI: 163

DEX: 6

Skill: Metal Armor

It has a skill. Its HP is low for its rank, but the armor must be making it resistant to damage.

...Oh, our eyes met.

"GYAAAAAA..."

Oh no, it might have noticed me. Its stats are quite skewed, but its AGI is higher than mine. It will be hard to escape.

I tried to dash and run.

Oh no, it's following me. What should I do?